Tool for removing unwanted items from plumbing

ABSTRACT

A tool for removing unwanted items from plumbing including at least two angled passageways, such as that found in a toilet. The tool comprises an elongated body including a flexible sheath made of a music wire extendable coil, and a flexible steel inner core comprising at least three radially outward flexing flat steel pieces, the body being lax.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates to a tool for removing unwanted items from plumbing. More particularly, this disclosure relates to a tool for removing unwanted items from plumbing including at least two angled channels, such as that found in a toilet.

Convention pickup tools 5, such as that illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, are bendable but relatively rigid. This allows them to be angled in other than a straight downward direction in order to reach an item to be retrieved. This is useful, but it makes the tool not useful when there is a need to pass a tool through a passageway with at least two sharply angled portions, where the rigidity of the tool prevents it reaching around the bends between the angled portions. The jaws of the tool also usually open to no more than 2 inches across.

The bendability but rigidity in these conventional tools is provided by the tool having a sheath made of larger diameter wire 6 made into an extendable spring, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 4 shows a toilet 22 with a toilet seat 8, a toilet bowl 15, and a rim of a toilet bowl 9. The typical full toilet bowl water level 14 a, as well the typical toilet tank water level 3, is shown. A flush jet orifice 12 is also shown. When a toilet is flushed, a flapper valve 1 is raised and water comes through 10 b and 10 a and out the weep holes 19 to rinse the toilet bowl and the flush jet orifice 12. When flushed, the water runs down and into a passageway including a first upwardly angled portion or channel 24, and then into a second portion or channel 16 after passing around a near 180-degree bend 17. The second channel 16 then again turns into a near vertical portion or channel 26 defining a toilet outlet which is connected to a sewer 28.

There are occasions where material clogs either the first, second or third channels. Conventional tools can not navigate these drastic changes in passageway direction, so conventional tools can not assist with the removal of this clogging material. Often, the toilet must be removed in order to gain access to the second channel or vertical channel. This is time consuming and undesirable work.

SUMMARY

Disclosed is a tool for removing unwanted items from plumbing including at least two angled passageways, such as that found in a toilet. The tool comprises an elongated body including a flexible sheath made of a music wire extendable coil, and a flexible steel inner core comprising at least three radially outward flexing steel pieces, the body being lax.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of a prior art tool used for picking up items.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the end of the tool shown in FIG. 1. The claws at the end of the tool are shown pulled inside of an outer sheath.

FIG. 3 is another perspective view of the end of the tool of FIG. 1. In this view, the claws are extended from the tool end and are open for grasping an item.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side cross-section view of a toilet.

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of a tool according to this disclosure, for removing items from a toilet.

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of the tool shown in FIG. 5, with grabber claws pulled inside of an outer sheath.

FIG. 7 is an end perspective view of a connector used to hold the grabber claws in an open position, the connector being at the end of an inner flexible core inside the tool of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is an end perspective view of the claws of the tool illustrated in FIG. 5.

Before one embodiment of the disclosure is explained in detail, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and the arrangements of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The disclosure is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. Use of “including” and “comprising” and variations thereof as used herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Use of “consisting of” and variations thereof as used herein is meant to encompass only the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof. Further, it is to be understood that such terms as “forward”, “rearward”, “left”, “right”, “upward”, “downward”, “side”, “top” and “bottom”, etc., are words of convenience and are not to be construed as limiting terms.

DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT

Illustrated in FIGS. 5-8 is a tool 20 according to this disclosure. More particularly, disclosed is a tool 20 for removing unwanted items from plumbing including at least two sharply angled channels, such as channels 24 and 16 found in the toilet 22 illustrated in FIG. 4.

The tool 20 comprises an elongated body 30 including a flexible sheath 34 made of a music wire extendable coil, and a flexible steel inner core 38 including at least three radially outward flexing flat steel pieces 42, the body 30 being lax. Lax according to this disclosure means that the majority of the body 30 bends downwardly under the influence of gravity when one end of the body 30 is held in any orientation.

The tool 20 further includes a knob 40 attached to the core 38 for translating the core 38 relative to the sheath 34, and a handle 44 attached to the sheath 34.

More particularly, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the core 38 is a wire made of stainless steel about 0.19 inches in diameter, and the steel pieces 42 are attached to an end of the wire with a solid connector 48. Each steel piece 42 has a radially inwardly facing curve 50 at its free end, the curve 50 serving to provide means for grabbing dogging material. The claws are each made of 301 flexible stainless steel about 0.015 inches thick. The steel pieces are positioned in the connector such that the pieces form a jaw of sorts, that can spread out to fill a passageway, usually four inches in diameter in a toilet, with clogged material. A typical jaw spread is over four inches, where conventional tools have jaws that spread out to no more than two inches.

The sheath is enlarged at one end 54 relative to the remainder of the sheath 34. This allows for the steel pieces to be retracted into the enlarged end 62 of the tool 20, as illustrated in FIG. 6.

The sheath is made from music wire (ASTM A228) of about 0.02 inches in diameter. The wire is made into an extendible spring sheath with a closed coil configuration, where each coil is in contact with the adjacent coil. An “initial tension” in the extension spring body determines how tightly these coils will be held together. An initial tension is selected that is appropriate to obtain a lax body construction.

The tool of this disclosure, being so flexible and lax, can now navigate drastic changes in passageway direction. This flexibility, together with the wide opening of the tool claws, allows for the removal of clogging material.

To operate the tool, an operator grasps the control handle with one hand and the push-pull knob with the other hand. The operator pulls back on the knob to retract the grabber claws into the outer flexible sheath.

The operator then inserts the grabber or jaw end of the device (with grabber claws extended) into the toilet or pipe until it reaches the material in the toilet or pipe which is causing the blockage. Because of the lax nature of the tool, the body of the tool must be inserted into the passageway and then “snaked” through the passageway until resistance on the further insertion of the tool indicates the claws of the tool have reached the clogging material.

The operator then pulls the knob back to grasp the clogging material by having the curved ends of the steel pieces come together. The operator then pulls back on both the knob and the control handle to withdrawn the tool from the passageway, to thereby extract the clogging material.

Various other features of this disclosure are set forth in the following claims. 

1. A tool for removing unwanted items from plumbing including at least two angled passageways, such as that found in a toilet, the tool including an elongated body comprising a flexible sheath made of a music wire extendable coil, and a flexible steel inner core including at least three radially outward flexing steel pieces, the body being lax.
 2. A tool according to claim 1, wherein the tool further includes a knob attached to the core for translating the core relative to the sheath.
 3. A tool according to claim 1, wherein the sheath further includes a handle attached to the sheath.
 4. A tool according to claim 1, wherein the core is a wire and wherein the steel pieces are attached to the wire at an end of the wire with a solid connector.
 5. A tool according to claim 1, wherein the sheath at one end is enlarged relative to the remainder of the sheath.
 6. A tool according to claim 1, wherein the sheath is made from music wire of about 0.02 inches in diameter.
 7. A tool according to claim 1, wherein the claws are each made of 301 flexible stainless steel about 0.015 inches thick.
 8. A tool for removing unwanted items from plumbing including at least two angled passageways, such as that found in a toilet, the tool including an elongated body comprising a flexible sheath made of a music wire extendable coil, a flexible steel inner core including at least three radially outward flexing flat steel pieces, the body being lax, a knob attached to the core for translating the core relative to the sheath, and the sheath includes a handle attached to the sheath.
 9. A tool according to claim 8, wherein the core includes a wire and wherein the steel pieces are attached to the wire at an end of the wire with a solid connector.
 10. A tool according to claim 8, wherein the sheath at one end is enlarged relative to the remainder of the sheath.
 11. A tool according to claim 8, wherein the sheath is made from music wire of about 0.02 inches in diameter.
 12. A tool according to claim 8, wherein the claws are each made of 301 flexible stainless steel about 0.015 inches thick. 